Branna (McCarty) Shores

Who does Hallmark have to thank for the 145 million cards exchanged each year on one singly delegated date? The victory goes to Valentine’s Day!   A major day for chocolate and roses, this holiday’s origins once blended Roman festivals and Christian martyrs with romantic associations.  Over time, it evolved through medieval traditions and commercialization into…

“I’m just going to “run this one up the flag pole,” in hopes I don’t come across as “not playing with a full deck.” However, I am going to “kick up my heels” and “go the whole nine yards” because that’s me… always having “a bee in my bonnet!” If you are a word nerd like me,…

As you may have noticed, my column has a name now! Last week, my mind was in wander mode once again, wondering what to write.  My goal each week is to share something to inspire, lead to a yearning for learning or simply leave you smiling. My topics may be as random as the wind,…

The Baby Boom has become the Grandparent Gush! There are more grandparents in the U.S. than ever before — some 70 million matriarchs and patriarchs that are embracing a new age and stage in life. Call it a second career or simply a welcome perk among the agonizing aches and pains of aging.   Mary H. Waldrip’s…

“To be or not to be, that is the question.” I wonder if Prince Hamlet was contemplating his New Year’s resolutions when he coined this famous phrase. It is speculated that the prince was pondering the dilemma of whether to live and suffer, or to die and end the pain. The lamentation from our legendary hero…

Who remembers the Noblesville Daily Ledger’s annual Christmas poetry contest? Well, I sure do, as every year it was a competition between my grandma, Bertie Hoover, and I to win the big prize! I started submitting mine in middle school, and who knows how long before that grandma was penning her prose. I won a…

Whether you call it, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Hanukkah, or any other seasonal celebration . . . most call it notorious for STRESS! From picking the right pine tree to posting your packages overseas, both negative and positive holiday stress come into play. One sure-fire way to put the celebration back into the season is to…

It’s a wrap! (well, almost). We made it to our final month of 2025. The turkey’s not even cold and we seamlessly survived the “Twelve-Month Tease,” also known as “Black Friday.” Analogous to the green flag waving at the Indy 500, department store doors fling open early the day after Thanksgiving, and as declared at yet another race-to-the-finish: “And…

Actress and artist Joyce Giraud said it best: “Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year because it reminds us to give thanks and to count our blessings. Suddenly, so many things become so little when we realize how blessed and lucky we are.” And as anyone who knows me well will attest,…

It’s month number 10 and time to turn again to the mystical, magical mind frame of fun, fright and frolic. This happy haunting was originally thought to have originated in 4000 B.C., however, Halloween as we know it actually evolved from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated approximately 2,000 years ago, not…